Ten Years Too Long
by soyxunxperdedor
Summary: Human AU:  Dean and Cas haven't seen each other since they broke up after their high school graduation, but now they're at their reunion, and maybe things weren't as over as they thought.  Destiel.


**AN: This has been in the works for a while, and I'm proud of it. Also, I was crazy lazy, so I sort of just scanned this for mistakes, feel free to point anything out. Now with new and improved time lapses. I foget that asterisks don't translate when I upload.**

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><p>"Sam, I don't understand why I should go to this thing," Dean bitched as he buttoned his shirt up.<p>

"Because," Sam said from the hallway. "You haven't seen most of those people in ten years."

"Yeah? There's a reason for that Sammy," Dean said as he pulled his jacket on. Sam came around the doorframe then, a massive bitchface in place.

"Dean, I know you don't want to go because you're going to have to see him. Also, put on your tie."

Dean scowled. "This has nothing to do with him. And no, I'm not wearing a tie, it makes me feel like a douche. Besides, the open collar look is in."

Sam rolled his eyes. "You have to stop watching Project Runway. Listen though, seriously. I know it's not going to be easy seeing him after ten years, but you have to. It's the mature thing to do."

"Since when am I supposed to do the mature thing?" Dean asked, pushing past Sam and down the stairs, Sam quick on his heels.

"Since you turned twenty-eight. Actually, longer ago than that. C'mon, you know you're excited to see him."

"I'm not."

"You are. Dean, I know you. I know you probably haven't eaten much today because the anticipation has your stomach twisted in knots, you're going to overcompensate by drinking too much at the reunion, and the moment you see him it's going to be like the last ten years never happened."

Dean stopped with the front door half opened, turning to give Sam and incredulous look. "Jesus Christ, how did I go this long without knowing I had a baby sister? Are you done psycho-analyzing me Samantha?"

Sam made another bitchface but pushed Dean out the door and towards the impala.

XXX

"Maybe I shouldn't go," Castiel said for the upteenth time.

"You're going Cassie," Balthazar said, not even looking up from his newspaper.

Castiel sucked his bottom lip into his mouth, chewing on it quietly, lost in thought. "Yeah, but, _he's _gonna be there."

Balthazar sighed and folded his paper up, dropping it on the café table. "Precisely. And if there's anything I've learned in the last ten years is that you desperately need to see him again."

Castiel looked up at the blonde. "But why?" he asked, carefully pretending that he didn't sound like a whiny ten year old.

"_Because _Cassie, you had absolutely no closure. You got into a huge fight and then never saw each other again. That's not a healthy way to end such a monumental relationship," Balthazar explained slowly, like he was speaking to a small child.

Castiel rested his chin on his hands as he stared out the café window with a faraway look in his eye. "He probably has a serious boyfriend now. Or a girlfriend, he was never particular." A look of horror crossed his face. "Oh God Balth, he could be _married _by now. It's been ten years! He could have a kid!"

Balthazar rolled his eyes. "You're overreacting Cassie. He's not married, he doesn't have a kid, and if he has a boyfriend or a girlfriend I sincerely doubt they're serious."

Castiel narrowed his eyes as he looked at his best friend. "How do you know?"

"Because there wasn't any _closure_. Have you not been listening to a word I've said? It's all about the closure. You may have had a horrific fight, but you loved each other and you both know it shouldn't have ended like that. And it's kept both of you from being able to fully move on."

"But what if that's just how it is for me?"

Balthazar arched an eyebrow at Castiel before glancing at his watch. "We should leave so you don't miss your reunion."

Castiel chewed on his lips again. "Maybe I shouldn't go."

XXX

"Why do they have to have this thing in the gym, huh? I mean, a lot of high school's have their reunions somewhere nice. But not Lawrence, nope, we get the gym," Dean griped as he pulled the impala into the parking lot.

"Did you take extra bitch pills this morning?" Sam asked as Dean found a spot.

"Can you maybe, I don't know, _try _to make this easier on me?" Dean asked as he got out of his car, smoothing his nice pants. He'd wanted to wear jeans but Sam had bitched.

"I'm trying! Do you want to go in there acting all pissy?" Sam asked as he followed Dean towards the propped open doors of the gym.

"No. Hey, is that Lisa running the greeting table?" Dean asked, peering inside. "Man, she's even hotter than she was ten years ago," he said with a low whistle. Sam rolled his eyes but pushed Dean inside.

"Well, Dean Winchester as I live and breathe," Lisa joked, coming around the table to give Dean a big hug.

"Lisa Braeden! How've you been?" he asked when they pulled away.

"I've been great. I'm a yoga instructor now. And I have a kid," she said, stepping back to reveal a bored looking eight year old. "Dean, this is Ben, Ben, this is my old friend Dean."

Dean grinned and crouched in front of the kid. "Hey man, nice Zeppelin shirt. They're pretty good huh?"

"Pretty good? They rock!" Ben exclaimed.

Dean laughed and slapped him a high five before standing again. "The sitter cancelled so he's my plus one," Lisa explained. She leaned in towards Dean before whispering conspiratorially "Speaking of plus ones, who's Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome over there?"

Dean furrowed his brow in confusion. "What?" he asked, before following her gaze. "Oh my God, Lisa, that's Sam," he said, slinging an arm around his brother's shoulder. He laughed when Lisa's jaw literally dropped.

"Sam?" she asked incredulously. "But, you used to be so… Not this tall," she said as she gestured at him wildly.

Sam laughed. "Yeah, I grew. Last time you saw me I was what, fourteen? I hit a growth spurt a couple years later."

"Obviously. Wow, I thought he was your date," Lisa laughed. "Oh! I forgot. Name tags," she said, handing one to both of them, along with black sharpies. "Now you're all set. Dean, after I'm done with the hostess duties hit me up for a dance. You too Sam," Lisa said as a couple more people came in the door.

"Will do," Dean said as he turned to leave.

"Oh, Dean?" Lisa called. "He's already here."

Dean smiled. "Thanks Lisa," he said as he and Sam entered the gym.

XXX

"Oh my God," Castiel said, instantly perching on the edge of his fold up chair.

"What?" Balthazar asked.

"_Oh my God_," he repeated.

"Cassie. _What_?" he asked again, waving a hand in front of his friend's face.

Castiel snapped out of it, focusing on Balthazar with a look of horror on his face. "He's here. And he has a kid. With Lisa Braeden."

"The woman that greeted us when we came in? Cassie that's ridiculous, don't you think she would've mentioned he was the squirt's father?"

"Balth, look at him!" Balthazar complied, looking in the direction of Castiel's open mouth stare. He'd seen pictures, and Dean Winchester hadn't changed much in ten years, maybe gained an inch or two and filled out more. Now he was crouched in front of Lisa's son. "They look alike! And she couldn't very well say 'oh hey Cas, nice to see you, I have a kid with the love of your life, how are you?'"

Balthazar smirked over at Castiel. "Love of your life?"

"Shut up," Castiel snapped with a scowl. "It's not even that ridiculous, they were a couple before we were. He lost his virginity to her." He chewed on his lip some more. "Ok, so that is ridiculous." Castiel's eyes went impossibly wide. "Oh my God, he's with the tall guy." Balthazar turned his attention back to the door just in time to see Dean sling his arm around a tall, attractive man's shoulders. Balthazar didn't have a witty rebuttal to that one.

"Oh Cassie, I'm sorry," he said sincerely.

Castiel shrugged bitterly. "I expected this Balthazar. No one as wonderful as Dean would still be single ten years later."

Balthazar knitted his eyebrows together. "Castiel, have you forgotten that for the entire time I've known you you've constantly had to beat the men off with sticks? Though, if I were you, I'd beat them off with something else," he said with a sly grin and a rude gesture.

Castiel rolled his eyes but his lips turned up in a small smile, which Balthazar considered a win. "I wasn't a saint Balth, I didn't turn all of them down."

"Yes but from what I can gather your longest relationship during the past ten years was with me, and that's just sad since we barely made it past six months."

"You can't use us as an example. That was doomed from the start, we both knew we were better as friends."

"True, but the sex was good."

"Can we change the subject now?"

"Yes. Are you going to talk to him?"

Castiel took a deep breath. "Yes," he exhaled. "I have to."

XXX

"Fuck Sammy!" Dean cursed.

"What?"

"He has a fucking boyfriend!"

"What? Oh. Jesus, I'm straight but I kind of want to fuck Cas right now." Dean slapped Sam upside the head. "Sorry! But seriously, ten years did nothing but good things to him."

Dean chewed on his bottom lip. "I know. I mean, I thought he was hot back then but _now_? No question he's probably the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

"Beautiful? And you call me girly. Why don't you go talk to him then?"

"Uh, because I don't think his boyfriend would appreciate that? Oh my God, did you see that? Did you see that gesture the blonde just made? We're in public can't they control themselves?" Dean asked, a sick look on his face. Sam had seen it but it looked like it was attached to a joke, he saw Castiel smile and roll his eyes.

"You're going to have to talk to him, boyfriend or no boyfriend," he pointed out.

Dean sighed. "Yeah, I know," he licked his lips nervously and ran a hand through his short hair. "Sam, what if this is all just me?"

Sam furrowed his brow. "What if what's all just you?"

Dean gestured wildly. "This! What if it's just me that's feeling so anxious about talking to him? What if for him this is just talking to an old friend, a guy he used to date in high school? I mean, I'm about to go talk to the only person I've ever been in love with, and it may mean nothing to him."

Sam's lips parted in surprise. "Dean, do you actually believe that? Even if he has moved on what you guys had won't be _nothing_ to him."

Dean shuffled his feet. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he conceded.

"Of course I'm right. Go talk to him."

Dean sighed. "Yeah, ok," he said before walking purposefully across the gym.

XXX

"I'm glad you realize that because he's headed this way. Good luck chap," Balthazar said, standing and slapping Castiel on the back as he moved towards the refreshments table.

Castiel turned to look in Dean's direction, eyes wide. He would be lying if he said he wasn't completely terrified at the prospect of talking to Dean again, to being in his presence, to breathing the same air as him.

But it was now out of his hands. Dean was indeed heading his way. He licked his lips nervously and fidgeted in his seat, standing and stepping a few feet forwards. Dean was fifteen feet away, ten feet, five…

"Cas," Dean breathed, a thousand unreadable emotions flickering over his face. "God, you look great," he added with a self-conscious laugh.

Castiel blinked. Dean was standing in front of him, talking to him. "Thanks Dean, so do you," he replied, and it was true. Dean had been ridiculously attractive in high school but now he was perfection. Adonis in the flesh.

Dean was nearly speechless. Cas's unnatural blue eyes shone brightly from merely a foot away. Dean had always remembered the exact shade, and he was stupidly happy that they hadn't been dulled by the years. He felt a goofy grin form on his face of its own accord. A thousand perfect memories flashed before his eyes, he and Cas entwined in the backseat of the impala, laying on the hood stargazing, the first time they said 'I love you'… And one not-so-perfect memory that he pushed from his mind. "How have you been?" Cas asked, pulling him from his thoughts.

"I've been good. I teach auto shop at a high school a few towns over."

Cas laughed. "You're a teacher? Seriously? I'm an English professor at the University of Kansas!"

"Wow, really? We're both teachers! That's insane!" Dean heard himself saying. He couldn't concentrate on his words very well, he just desperately wanted to touch Cas. To hug him, to brush his hand along in his arm, to kiss him…

But he guessed Cas's boyfriend wouldn't like that very much.

"So… It seems you've done well for yourself in other matters as well," Cas said, his voice taking an obviously forced light tone as he looked pointedly across the gym.

Dean furrowed his brow in confusion as he followed Cas's gaze to Sam. "What?"

"Your boyfriend is very attractive."

Dean's eyes bulged out of his head. "Why does no one recognize him? That's Sam!"

Cas blinked, thrown off. "_Sam_? That's a hell of a growth spurt."

"You're telling me, he's got three, maybe four inches on me these days. But, uh, speaking of boyfriends…" he trailed off with a nervous cough.

Cas tilted his head at him in a movement that was damn _Cas _it made Dean's heart thud painfully in his chest. "Boyfriend? I… _Oh. _No, Dean, Balthazar is most certainly _not_ my boyfriend. We are merely very good friends, and he came as my plus one for moral support."

Dean's lips parted in surprise. "Moral support?"

Cas's cheeks colored and he looked down at his shoes. "I've said too much."

"No, wait, Cas," Dean said, tipping Cas's chin up with his forefinger and thumb. The movement was very reminiscent of the times Cas would be feeling sad or self conscious, and Dean would do that in order to kiss him, often followed by Dean whispering 'I love you,' to him. Dean quickly let go of Cas's chin, but soldiered on otherwise. "Why do you need moral support?"

"Because I knew you would be here," Cas confessed.

Dean looked at Cas, all wide-eyed with wonder. But then he looked down at his shoes, idly kicking the toe of one into the floor. "Listen, Cas… you were right."

"What?"

Dean looked up into his confused blue eyes. "Our fight. You were right, I didn't need to give up college for you."

Cas's lips pressed into a thin line and his eyes filled with sadness. "Oh," he said softly.

Dean instantly realized he'd worded that wrong. "No, Cas, I didn't mean it like that. I mean you were right that I needed to go to college, and yeah, I wasn't gonna be able to go to school with you, which would've put a strain on things, but I wish we'd never broken up. I should've listened to you, because maybe things would be different, and we'd be here together. Hell, maybe we'd be married, maybe we would've adopted a kid. So, you were right."

Cas smiled softly at him. "No I wasn't," he said, shaking his head. "I'm glad that you did go to college, but I shouldn't have given you the ultimatum of go to school or we break up. That was your decision to make, not mine."

Dean stared at Cas for a moment before laughing heartily. "We both fucked up, huh?"

"Yeah," Cas said as a grin slid across his face. "We did." The smile left his face and his tone got serious. "You know, Dean… It's not too late to try again," he said hopefully.

"Yeah?" Dean asked with a small, hopeful smile.

"Yeah," Cas said with a nod.

Dean smiled and grabbed Cas, pulling him closer to seal their lips together. The kiss was soft and slow, and Dean pulled away with a lazy smile. "Sorry, ten years was a long time."

"That it is," Cas agreed. The DJ started playing a slow song, and Cas pulled Dean by the hand onto the middle of the makeshift dance floor. "So we have a lot to make up for," he added, wrapping his arms around Dean's neck as he pulled him in for another kiss, their bodies swaying slowly together in time with the music.

XXX

Balthazar made his way around the dance floor to the punch bowl, just as the tall man Dean was with arrived there.

"Oh, uh, hello," he said awkwardly, glancing across the gym to where Dean and Cas were talking. He turned his gaze to the man's nametag. Sam Winchester. Oh bloody hell, Dean _had _gotten married.

"Hi," Sam said just as awkwardly. Balthazar Roche, the nametag said. "So… You're Cas's date, huh?"

Balthazar poured himself some punch. He sipped it and smiled when he realized it had been spiked. "In name only. We dated for a while sophomore year of college, but it didn't last."

Sam got himself some punch as well, nearly spitting it back into the cup when he tasted the alcohol. "Dean'll be damn happy to hear that," he said.

Balthazar gave Sam a weird look. "You're not jealous?"

Sam cocked his head at the blonde. "Why would I - Ohhhh," he said as it dawned on him. "No, you've got it all wrong, Dean and I aren't a couple, I'm his little brother."

Balthazar raised his eyebrows. "Well Cas is in for a bit of surprise, we thought you were his lover."

Sam blushed into his punch. "Definitely not. We thought the same thing about you and Cas, though."

Balthazar turned his attention to his friend again. He could only see Dean's back, but Cas's eyes were shining bright with emotion as he spoke. "So, Sam, you were there when everything happened. Is this truly as meant to be as I think it is?"

"Without a doubt. Cas is the only person Dean's ever loved, man or woman," Sam told him.

Balthazar smiled softly. "Same with Cas." Balthazar turned his gaze back to Sam, appraising him. He took tall, dark, and handsome to astonishing heights, pun not intended. "So, if you're not with Dean…" he started.

Sam smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I'm straight."

"Pity. Ah well, can't blame a guy for trying."

"Hey, look," Sam said, nudging Balthazar with his elbow and pointing across the gym. Balthazar followed his gaze to Dean and Cas, who were lip locked in the middle of the dance floor, slowly dancing to the music.

"Took 'em long enough," Balthazar deadpanned as he took another sip of punch.


End file.
